


And of His Nature

by thelonebamf



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-05-05 05:43:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5363549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelonebamf/pseuds/thelonebamf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Very short introspective piece.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When he thinks of the man, he thinks of water.

 

At first he thought, quite coldly, that it was because he always seemed to be crying. Even when they'd first met, the engineer's eyes were full of tears, wide in disbelief at the sight of two superhuman soldiers battling in what had been his office, his workplace, his sanctuary. The stealth cammo did little to belay that image. The man's shuffling form looked like nothing so much as a thin river of displaced space, cut into the air.

 

Later, as he sat across the table, listening to his impassioned pleas that Snake join him in his newest project, he was reminded again of water. He thought of Armstech, weapons design, Philanthropy and saving the world. The man seemed to have shifted seamlessly from one to the other, like a liquid taking the form of its vessel. For a while, Snake was worried that it was just a matter of time before Hal changed again.

 

And then he was in the bay. The current pulled him down, tossed him within its depths like a plaything. His breath was forced from him and he was helpless to resist. When he was at last pulled from its grip by trembling arms, he looked up into those same eyes, once again full of tears, and at last he realized how strong the water could be.

-

When he thinks of the man, he thinks of the wind.

 

Perhaps this was because when they first met it had been in Alaska. The landscape was practically featureless, the compound a singular blemish on the ice. The wolf-dog’s howling was all but indiscernible from that of the wind, which enveloped the tiny island like the arms of a possessive lover. When he first saw Snake, he was taken aback by how swiftly and silently he had appeared. Yet there was a hardness to the man, each movement sharp and purposeful, like the cutting edge of a knife.

As he sat across the table, nervously explaining Philanthropy to him, he wondered vaguely if he’d made the right choice. Though there was no one else he knew with Snake’s talents, there was always the chance they would find themselves to be incompatible. Hal would end up fighting against the wind, struggling against the unseen force. He shivered as Snake’s silent gaze took him in, and continued talking.

 

Some years later, Hal was beaming with pride as he took a well-deserved sip of coffee, his eyes trained on his monitor and the tiny blinking dot that represented his friend, mission now complete. All that was left was for Snake to make his exit, leaving no whisper of his visit behind, and to return to him. The window panes rattled in their frames, rudely shaking Hal out of his quiet moment of victory, and he thought of the wind once more- not the harsh gales of Alaska, or even the storm beginning to brew outside. Rather, he remembered breath on his neck and the gentle push on his back as he endured yet another jogging session at Dave’s insistence. It hadn’t been so bad, that time- running with the breeze, allowing it to cool and carry him down the trail, and he thought fondly of how gentle the wind could be.

-

When he thinks of the man, he thinks of fire.

It was not the all-encompassing blaze that still threatened to overtake his dreams, even now. Nor was it the familiar heat between his lips, a crutch that only served to make him more human.

No, Hal’s fire came from within. His heart had a capacity for passion and intensity Snake had never seen matched. It was always burning, sometimes just below the surface, flickering behind silver eyes. There were sparks when the two of them argued with biting words. Embers in the moments after.

Snake knew it was his fault when there was nothing left but a glow. He knew his own negligence and stubbornness were the only thing keeping him from Hal’s fire, Hal’s warmth. When he finally could bear it no longer, he found Hal waiting and the fire still burned.

In that moment he thought of their first encounter, the years after, and how it brought them to where they were now. And if Hal was water then he was also fire, and he himself was clay. And through the flames he had become beautiful.

-

Their safe houses never had yards; the apartments never featured a single houseplant. He and Snake spent all their time and energy trying to keep themselves alive, and had none to spare for so much as a fern. Once or twice, as they sped down empty highways in the Midwest, Hal may have gazed at the endless rows of corn and wondered vaguely at the technology that made it possible to grow such quantities of food, but he gave little thought to the plants themselves, to the sun or the soil.

 

When Dave is gone, he finds himself quick to stop moving, finally putting down roots.

 

These days he is on firmer ground than he had expected, his life falling into a strange sort of domesticity he never anticipated, but adapts to quickly. Sunny wants to grow roses, and before long, the two of them are deep in research, comparing varietals and growing methods.

 

The ground isn’t ideal, and requires a great deal of preparation and tending before it’s ready for planting. He starts to feel a strain in his back and knees, but decides it’s worth it when she smiles up at him, the smudge of dirt on her nose only adding to her charm. She can’t take her eyes off of the flower bed, would probably sleep outside if he let her, but is content to simply press her face against the window even as the light fades in the evening.

 

“Do you think they’ll bloom?” she asks.

 

When he thinks of the man, he thinks of earth.

 


	2. Podfic Reading by Yeoyou

Fantastic friend Yeoyou (Floating-in-the-blue.tumblr.com) did a wonderful reading of my story!

[Please listen to it here!](http://floating-in-the-blue.tumblr.com/post/147146906285/141-point-12-as-promised-heres-my-reading-of)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to LotusRox and Harpokrates for helping me edit this. It isn't even a long story but it took me forever to get around to fixing and posting.


End file.
